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Familiar
Familiars are animals that have bonded so closely with a human companion that they are considered tied to that person (and vice versa) by law. It is a relationship with the same legal recognition of kinship that marriage and adoption bestow upon someone unrelated to you by blood. In Duilintinn, familiars are marked as family members in the censuses taken by citizens throughout the kingdom. An animal is considered to be a familiar if the person and animal both consent to the partnership, usually with a mage with a focus that allows them to communicate with animals as a witness to that fact. Familiars are kinda like service animals; they are allowed in spaces where ordinary pets are not, and you rarely see their human companion without them. There’s a very thin line between a pet and a familiar. They are loyal, powerful allies that seem to understand far more than most pets and will do their best to aid their human companion in all things. Sadly, familiars have the same life expectancy as any other member of their species. Meeting Familiars will normally meet their human companion for the first time when the latter is experiencing an intense moment of need. This could include anything from undergoing trauma, doing something stupid, struggling with mental health, whatever. The idea is to take the concept of humans going to a shelter and adopting a pet in need and turning it on its head. Familiars will usually find their human in need and come to their aid first, not the other way around. Of course, there are familiars who met their companions under less dramatic circumstances, but odds are they bonded the most during a time of stress or pain. Mages who can communicate with animals and perform the agreement between a familiar and their human have noted that animals who haven’t undergone a particularly difficult period of time alongside their human companion are less likely to have the maturity and awareness necessary to complete the agreement. While most pets are loyal to a fault in their own way, familiars are usually creatures who have faced the option between saving themselves or aiding their human companion and chosen the latter. Magic The magical abilities of a familiar will depend on what sort of animal they are and any other exposure to magic in their lifetime. Unlike the concepts of familiars that you’d find in other fictional universes, being a familiar does not automatically grant magical abilities. However, if the animal was already inherently magical (a cat sidhe, for example) or if some crazy magical thing happened where they were given magical abilities (ordinary mages can NOT do this for more than a short duration so it’d have to be some WILD magical stuff) then it would have magical abilities. However, most magical animals haven’t been seen outside of the forest in decades, and magical events that grant permanent abilities are few and far between. Most familiars are simply mundane animals that demonstrate a higher level of intelligence, understanding, empathy, and cooperation than ordinary pets. Read More * Familiar Signaling Enchantments Category:Mundane Animals Category:Magical Animals Category:Flora and Fauna